


Freedomers and new semester

by Storycollector



Series: Saga of the Wor(l)ds [3]
Category: Ever After High
Genre: Gen, OCs - Freeform, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-04-17 09:07:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4660857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storycollector/pseuds/Storycollector
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are more students at EAH than those few in the Legacy year, y’know. Few girls and boys from the Freedom year, Freedomers for short, introduce themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Diary of Clara Lear

I’m princess Clara Lear. The third daughter of king Augustus Lear from the Bard’s play The King Lear. I’m currently studying at the prestigious Ever After High, I’m in the Freedom Year which means I’m a freshman. Now that I’ve introduced myself allow me to tell you about my schoolmates. 

My roommate is Violet Twelve, daughter of Viola from the Twelfth night. I like her but she makes me nervous sometimes. Particularly her hobby.

She is a member of the Costume making club. It’s a club where you design and sew your own costumes and then make photos while wearing them. She pays an unholy sum of money on various fabrics and accessories. It’s not only jewelry but fake noses and teeth as well. I’m afraid that one day the piles of clothes will invade my half of the room. It’s not that Violet is messy, the piles are rather neat, but there’s so many of them! And she often dresses as a male. 

Truth is Violet has an excuse she has to spend a good chunk of the plot disguised as a boy, but why Shane? Shane Nottingham is the son of the Sheriff of Nottingham, all he has to do is collecting money and ordering troops around, he doesn’t need to dress as a beggar or does he? I will have to read his story once. Anyway Shane often dresses as a girl and wants to be called Shayna. 

Then there are Ronnie Rosenkrantz and Gunnar Guildenstern from the third grade. They make fun of almost anyone. Those two are really awful and they give us Shakespearians a bad name.

They once mentioned some person named Robin Goodfellow, according to these two he should have been even greater at making pranks and tricks than both of them together. Oh my Grimm, I’m so glad I didn’t meet him, he must be perfectly unbearable. 

There is however one more prankster right in my year. Caspar Fool is going to be the next fool in Violet’s play. He tries to flirt with her sometimes. I don’t know if he has a serious rebellious crush on her or if he messes with her royally because it’s his destiny to be foolish and make fun of people. Whatever after.  
Apropos Royals and Rebels. You think Apple White takes it too far? You call her obsessed with her destiny? You know nothing, Jonathan Lionheart. (Why did I say that? Excuse me, must be some bad influence from Gunnar and Ronnie.) 

If you hadn’t met Romeo and Juliet, you hadn’t met a truly dedicated Royal. Those two couldn’t wait for their graduation and the day they will be reunited. Forever. For eternity. In short, they cheerfully awaited their own suicide. The guards must have been constantly alert because once one of them got near a knife or a poisonous substance, they always tried to kill themselves immediately. 

It says that in their first year they kept bothering the headmaster for the privilege of signing the Storybook of Legends earlier because only their love was true, the other tales only copy their passion for each other. Ugh. I know that wasn’t very lady like, but…They really could get on your nerves if you spent a lot of time with them. One had to admire their optimism though, no one was so happy from the prospect of dying like them. 

When one talks about the Ever After High, one has to mention the headmasters because frankly a day can’t pass without you seeing at least one of them.  
For example I saw miss Tolkien climbing on one of the tree pillars in castleteria with a rope when I ate my breakfast. She’s strange. One day she showed up as a kid, then disappeared for a few days and then she and the Grimm brothers returned. This time she looked as a teenager, even though she insists that she’s adult already, and the headmasters claimed her as their adopted heir. 

I must go now, the lesson starts in fifteen minutes and I have to revise stuff from the last lesson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those wondering – Zelda is installing a swing.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi, um, eh, I am Shane, and sometimes I am Shayna, but right now I’m Shane. Shane Nottingham. I live in England with my mom, dad and three sisters. My father works as the sheriff, he is the prince’s John’s right hand. He tells me that one day I will succeed him in his work as the right hand of prince Jonathan. I don’t mind, well mostly. Jonathan is ok but dad says that his role is to take money from peasants, he doesn’t mind it, it’s his work and the money belongs rightfully to the crown after all, but I feel kinda sad for the poor people. Don’t tell anyone but sometimes I sneak out of the castle and bring them food, clothing or even part of the money pops collected that day.   
That’s why I dress as a girl, to not be recognized because dad would be angry if he caught me stealing taxes from the crown and giving it to some villagers. Well that and I sometimes really do feel differently, like a girl, at least I think that’s how a girl feels. And then I beg my friends to call me Shayna. I also learned to sew but I’m not very good at it.   
My friend Violet is much better. She says that I should enter the Drama club because she is sure that I would make a good actor. Maybe I will try it but I usually get stage fright very easily. My parents always told me that I’m too shy for a future sheriff. Sigh, maybe attending the drama club regularly would make me less nervous in front of the crowds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shane/Shayna is genderfluid.


	3. This is the diary of Cecilia Origami

How should I start? There is nothing interesting about me, really. The shoes in the corner? Oh, they are ballet shoes, I’m attending ballet lessons at the Red Shoes Studio. I love to dance and I’m so happy that my destiny is to be the ballerina in my tale but I know that I can’t compare with the likes of Nathan or Duchess. All these people are so much better than me but I too will one day become a graceful dancer. 

I wonder how my tale will play out? We still don’t know who will be our villain, maybe the person is still attending spellementary but I’m sure who is destined to be my love. Brandon Soldier is so brave. He doesn’t fear anyone and anything. Fire, wild creatures, nothing. 

Few weeks ago there was such a cold weather but when Brandon hugged me, I’ve felt warm again. I just wish he would dance with me sometimes. But he refuses, even if we are alone and no one sees us, he still keeps saying that it would only ruin my image if someone as clumsy as him danced with me. He isn’t clumsy, not at all. Besides it’s not his fault that he lost a leg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Nutcracker is not only Hoffman’s short story but also Tchaikovsky’s ballet, let’s say that Nathan Nutcracker can dance, too.


	4. (no title)

Stop reading this, this is personal property of his royal highness prince Jonathan Lionheart, the descendant of the first king John. My family’s roots are as old as the story itself, not like some peasants tale that requires its hero to be a snotty farmer’s boy. Like a miller’s son or a poor fisher could ever achieve to become true heroes.

My brother on the other side. He’s tall, strong and handsome. That Charming boy would stood no chance against my bro if RJ wasn’t, you know…Sigh, let’s say that it is more probable that RJ would try to woo Daring than Apple. There I said it. You got a problem with that? Good for me though, because such king isn’t keen on conceiving heirs and king without heirs has problems keeping his crown. See? You may be taller and stronger and what not but you can’t beat destiny! It is me who’s chosen by fate to become the king and to ensure the continuation of our line. 

If I hate him? Of course, I do! Usually. He has his moments though. Like when he stops chasing other boys or starting fights and takes me hunting or fishing. Just me and brother, without parents to fight over politics and which one of us two is better…


	5. (Untitled)

For many fairy talers it’s nothing unusual when a princess communicates with woodland creatures, particularly with birds but they find it a bit odd when a prince possesses such an ability. However the male rulers of Huang kingdom are famous for listening, and sometimes talking, to their treasured winged friends. What’s even more interesting, they prefer only a certain kind of birds. Their national animal is the nightingale.

ᴥ

The Realm of fairies, pixies and Fair Folk in general exists parallel to other worlds inhabited with fairy tales. The elves and sprites are distant beings, preferring to live undisturbed in their secluded world but they sometimes reveal themselves to a mortal in order to grant a wish or pull a prank on their unwitting victim.   
There are known cases when the Fair folk granted someone magical abilities either for a limited time or until the blessed one’s death. Those cases usually revolve a magical ritual or, and that’s even more often, a mock ritual. The fairy or elf in question tells a human to do something silly the being just came up with in order to receive a wish. Those mock rituals may involve dressing in women clothes, running naked around the village or living as a sheep for a month.

ᴥ

As the human cultures were changing some tales were forgotten and diminished out of existence and new ones came to take their place. Some remained and even inspired the creation of similar but not quite the same stories. Those altered stories provided room for new settlers and this lead to the until then taleless offspring of the myths and other characters to seek new homes for themselves. One of those new born worlds was the world of fairy tales. 

ᴥ

Like majority of the most famous fairy talers, the first protagonists of the The Beauty and the Beast tale were the direct descendants of the myths, the story about Cupid and Psyche. A beautiful girl is forced to spend time with an ugly creature which later turns out to be a handsome man. 

Snippets from the Tale and Fairy Realm Lexicon, volumes II and V written by Milton and Giles Grimm


	6. January 20th 2015 – the Meeting

Today is an important day, I will participate at the meeting of headmasters and teachers for the first time. I had to read the students’ files to get as much information of them as possible and try to observe them. I feel like a biologist studying jungle animals. It’s fun to be all stealthy and once in a while jump at an unsuspecting kid and yell ‘Wassup?’. You should see their faces. 

Once in a while we have unofficial student-related talks in our little family circle during lunch and dinner. While the fictional characters are significantly simpler than mortals, the things they are able to come up with, can be intriguing. It is our job to know what is happening around here but sometimes we see things we just have to share with each other.

While I very much like doing all sorts of mischief myself, sometimes it’s just plain funny to watch dem genre kiddies live their lives. 

I called for my favorite spiritual guides and surrogate mothers, Beatrice and Laura. Fathers try hard but they can’t reach the closeness of our thirteen years long relationship, not in one month anyway. That’s why I talk to my ghostly quill mums, they are dead but at least not so deadly dead as my real parents, so I feel more at home when I summon them here. 

Then I headed to the faculty meeting room which was a room where the teachers and headmasters held meetings, obviously. They discuss anything that is even remotely about the school in some way. Funding, behavior of pupils, relationships with other schools and sometimes even political situation in the kingdoms the students come from. 

Before I set out to the meeting room, my eyes fell on some documents. Those were the files of the first graders Cecilia Origami and Brandon Soldier. Each document had a cell for the name of the pupil, title of the story, student’s role in the story and even the names of other major characters in one’s tale. I read this file already but I overflew it once more and I instantly found what has caught my eye. The cell for the villain was crossed out. That’s weird, their story is supposed to have an antagonist. Another thing to ask my adoptive dads. 

At the faculty meeting room I took my seat and looked around at the teachers. I caught Giles flashing me an encouraging smile. Moorhilde (Mrs. Trollsworth) has brought me a cup of enchantino with a small cookie on the plate. Than Milton opened the discussion about new schedules and possible role changes for certain students. The first topic was your usual new year, new semester organization stuff. The second part of the discussion was related to the recent conflict that began this school year, although it’s been brewing secretly for the last twenty years. Royals and Rebels. The former are apparently lucky with their lives and are regarding their future jobs as true calling, The latter are unhappy with the roles of their parents and would like to do anything but the work of their old people. In theory. In practice it’s way more chaotic. Particularly because while the majority of Rebels know what they DON’T want to do they have no idea what they actually DO want to. No wonder, they are still high schoolers and there aren’t many teenagers that would know their true calling at sixteen on either world, though the Earthlings are even less decisive than the teenage fictionals. 

On the other hand, there is the thing about the humans thinking the stories up. Their minds literally created a whole universe filled with stories and fictional people. So isn’t this whole rebel movement just a force coming from some writers who decided to come up with some retellings? Dunno. Some weeks ago I didn’t know the storyworlds were even real and that in one of them is a school built for the descendants of famous fairy tale characters. Now I’m trying to come up with terms that I’m not even human to begin with, not to mention that I have a new job which is a position in the aforementioned school torn by the conflict I was accidentally involved in. Lucky me. 

There are serious gaps - more like wide jawed abysses – in my knowledge about the storyverse and there will be a lot of filling ahead of me. Made even more difficult by the fact that I’m still not fully healed and my fathers are torn on what they can teach me to not overwork me. But this is still probably the better alternative to staying all alone in a world where I maybe don’t belong in anymore. All this flew through my head as the discussion went on and on. You don’t need to know every single detail, that would be too tedious. But what could be of any interest to you, is that the staff is deciding whether or not to put certain students to the villain training program. When they got to Sparrow Hood and Shane Nottingham, I took my word: “Ladies and gentlemen, as I see it, they will either have to switch their roles or we will have a parody at our hands. Which would have its merits, by the way. Because then I could finally come to Sparrow and openly tell him: Dude, you’re one big joke.” 

My opinion was noted. The meeting came to an end. I came over to Giles: “Shane is such a sweetheart. His parents are right, he’s too sweet to be the sheriff. Did you know that he donates to poor families? And he really rocks the dresses he and Violet make.” Not that dressing up would determine the amount of one’s goodness but in this case it does hint on a role reversal. Because there are versions where Robin Hood dresses as a woman. I know, I read some a few days ago. Reading is one of the things I’m allowed to do while my body recovers from the injuries I received in the car crash so I read a lot. When I say a lot, I mean like a dozen of books each day. Of course, it depends on how huge a volume is but one of the advantages of being a Quill is a quick mind that includes quick reading too. 

“It will break Jonathan’s heart though. He complains how annoying Shane is and how he doesn’t shut up about moderation and giving to the poor but he likes him. And RJ, he really loves his brother, but power hungry he is, that can’t be denied. Poor confused prince,” I sighed lightly. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to ask about this.” I showed him the files of Cecilia and Brandon with the crossed villain cell. I wanted to know what it means. Now it was Giles turn to sigh. He even added a short scratch on his head: “Oh this, ah. Do you know what happened to the villain of the previous generation,” he asked me a new question instead of giving me an answer on mine. But I knew that one because I looked it up, the school has a collection of everyone’s files back to its first students. “He was burnt to death. But couldn’t the new bad guy come from a different family? I thought it doesn’t really have to be the direct descendant, especially in a case like this,” I looked at him quizzically. Giles gave out a short laugh: “Yes, of course, the character doesn’t have to be the child of the previous one, although many are convinced it’s for the best that way, but that’s what it makes us so unsure. Right now it could be almost anyone. Well, not anyone, the person will show affinity for certain things but I believe you get me.” I slowly nodded: “I think…So it may even be a random guy growing on a farm or something.” “Exactly.” “And we have to look for these signs of those certain affinities so we can offer this person a place here?” Giles nodded with a satisfied smile. 

THE END


End file.
